We live in an area of housing surrounded by woods and a lot of undergrowth. It is home to all kinds of woodland creatures we love to watch when they wander into our yard. The problem is our yard is open and unfenced. The deer and rabbits in particular seem to think my hard earned garden was planted just for them to feed on. How do I get rid if the unwanted intruders without hurting them?

My sister lives in an area where fences between homes are not the norm. Plus she is out further from the more dense areas of her city. She has had to deal with the same problems you are having. She is an avid gardener and now has a full producing flower, fruit and vegetable garden that is protected from voracious intruders. She likes seeing the animals wander through the yard though so this keeps everyone happy. The way she got around the problems was maybe not the most attractive way to have to deal with it but it keeps the critters away and they can still wander in her yard and nibble on other things. She picked a couple areas of her yard and built low fences to keep her little nature visitors from devouring her hard work. The fences are made of a wire fencing material available either in rolls, sheets or by the yard or foot at most big hardware or home building supply stores. To keep it standing she put small solid wood posts at the corners and strategic points to attach the fencing to. Then she cut a piece and created a gated entry so she could easily go in or out to work on or harvest what she had. She built it high enough to keep the taller deer from being able to graze over the top of the fence and it keeps the low grazing rabbits from getting in too. The open fencing allows the light through completely and also allows the plants to be fully visible. Since it isn’t the prettiest option in the world she set her fenced gardens a little further away from the back of the house. Closer to the house she has trees and shrubs and some flowers. Enjoy the wildlife! Mama Nono

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